KH: Broken and Beyond
by Shadowclaw98
Summary: After the events of KHIII Aqua has fallen into a coma. Taken to the mysterious Realm Beyond she must fight her own darkness to escape. But it's never as simple as that in this realm of eccentrics. Sequel to KHIII: Shadows of the Heart. Rated T for swearing, blood, violence.
1. Falling

_*So, you want to hear a story, huh? One of betrayal, loss, madness and lolis?_

_- Ahem._

_*Ok, no lolis. This is our realm. A realm so out of reach, mere humans cannot reach it, except under special circumstances. Many people call it Heaven. Others call it Yomi. We just call it the Realm Beyond._

_= Cos we're lazy like that._

_*Dude! Shut up. Anyway...the Realm Beyond is home to a special race of people, people that can see all realities. And, of course, they were watching the events leading up to Requiem. One young Keyblade Master in particular caught the eye of a man named Firewinde. _

_*After defeating the insane Master Xehanort, Aqua fell into a coma, and her spirit brought into our reality out of interest by Firewinde._

_*Add a tsundere loli, a bipolar wolfboy, a red haired emo, and bitter, obsessive, arrogant, curly haired Spaniard-_

_-He was Portuguese_

_*WOMAN! I am trying to introduce a tale here!_

_-Duh, that's why I'm annoying you._

_* (Eye twitches) A PORTUGUESE man, as well as a Demonic Nightmare and you have today's story. Welco-Uff!_

_=(Pushes him out of the way) Welcome to the Watchtower!  
_

_*Fine, YOU finish my intro. Dirty little wolf -.-_

~*Br/By*~

How long had I been falling for? It felt like forever...

Maybe this was death. Maybe I was going to heaven. Funny that I was falling if I was going to heaven.

I let out a sigh.

I can sigh...that's good I guess.

I chuckled, as a felt the warm abyss surround me. I wasn't falling quickly. In fact it was rather slow, like being underwater. I opened my eyes, but the inky blackness prevented my eyes from seeing far away.

I could, however, see glimpses of stuff...worlds...like I was watching a movie, only there were hundreds of them...thousands, millions!

One was of that blonde man...Cloud I think his name was, only he was with several other people fighting a large, seven-winged angel.

Another was of a mismatch group of people, one with pink hair, one with silver, one with an afro, all fighting a giant ornate...wheel. Okay...

Another was of...us! Only...they weren't 'us', we were at an incredibly expensive looking high school...oh my god, I was kissing Zack!

The next was of Sora, Kairi and Riku, with three other keyblade wielders that I didn't know about in Radiant Garden, fighting hordes of Heartless.

Then there was one of...me...lying in a hospital bed, a drip in my wrist. Terra and Ven were sat next to me, worry painted on their faces.

"Is that...?" I managed to say.

"Yup," came an all too familiar, menacing voice.

I looked to me left, to find a relaxed, black haired and golden eyed version of myself yawning lazily.

"You! Are you doing this?!" I growled, trying to move but failing.

"Nah, I'm not doing this," the Voice chuckled, rubbing some dirt from her nose. "If I were, it wouldn't be this epic would it? Hmm...I need a name...I was thinking of something in honour of you, my big sister, but Piss-For-Brains is too insulting to myself."

She began laughing madly. I stared at her...she was everything I hated, the madness and torment Xehanort had given me.

"Alice is nice!" she smiled, clicking her fingers. "Take note, my name is Alice from now on- oh, that can't be good..."

She pointed below us. I looked and found a huge portal of light at the bottom. It was so blinding I could only look for a second before covering my eyes.

_Aqua Anatu..._

'_That voice..._' I thought. '_It's familiar_'

_You have been given the opportunity for a second chance. Welcome...to the Realm Beyond._

Alice and I shielded our eyes as the light brightened, engulfing us completely.

~*Br/By*~

Firewinde stood by a large crystal orb in Victorian style room, head bare and only wearing his dark grey suit. He turned his head slightly.

"Shadow?" he asked in his usual calm way.

Shadow looked at him slightly, not getting up off the overstuffed leather sofa.

"Would you like to test Master Aqua, and make sure she has the strength for what is to come?"

Shadow looked around, then pointed to himself. "Me? How come? Aren't there more, uhh, powerful, higher ranking people than me?"

He said all this whilst moving his hands in motions, like he was describing what he was saying with them.

"I feel you have the current need to do so. After all, you are still not over the incident that resulted in the death of Shikon."

Shadow stared at the tall man before shaking his head and chuckling. "Yeah, I'll do it then."

He began to walk out of the room, before Firewinde grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"Don't let Shikon judge your actions, Shadow," he said firmly.

Shadow turned and smiled. "Yes, Sir."

Shadow created a blood red Dimensional Gate, and left. Firewinde shook his head and sighed.

* * *

**A/N: **Sequel!

If you haven't read _**KHIII: Shadows of the Heart**_, then do so, it'll clear a LOT of stuff up.

Leave your thoughts below.

And theme song for this story is _Katayoku no Tori _by Akiko Shikata.

Woot.

PS; Microsoft Word has become corrupted on my laptop. As in it opens up, tries to configure, I say no, it asks me to confirm, then it does it all over again. Long story short, I can't write anything, so this chapter is going up now just in case. It should be ok later today since Mum's boyfriend is wiz with computers. But if it isn't I don't know when it will be.


	2. Welcome Committee

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I do own Alice, Shadow, Firewinde, Herald, Kaye, Antex and the plot. Yay!**

-*Br/By*-

_?_

I woke up slowly to the smell of baked dirt and burned animal...droppings. Ugh...that was _not _ a good smell! The sunlight blinded me a bit forcing me to close and shield them again. Ignoring the colours that clouded my vision I cracked my eyes open and looked at my surroundings. In front of me was a single cracked strip of asphalt, bordered on both sides by dusty sand, cracked earth and small, sad looking scrub brushes. Behind me was the same. Horizon to horizon it was just flat desert.

However, I spotted a large set of tall, rocky formations with wispy smoke coming out of them. It looked to be about a mile away.

(**Welcome to Fyrestone-** **Borderlands OST**)

"Guess that's my only option," I sighed, looking up. "And not a cloud in sight."

I set off, trudging through the outback. From the looks of things it hadn't rained in a while, nor did it look like it was going to. The walk took less time than I expected. Or maybe the sun caused me to misjudge the distance.

Well, regardless, after about half an hour of walking in around forty degree heat I came to a rocky alley. Welcoming the much need shade I walked further, quickly finding myself in a large rocky plain. Near me was a small town bordered by a tall metal fence topped with barbed wire.

Having no other choice and desperate for a drink I decided to take a look. No sooner had I arrived at the gate I heard shouting.

"Shoo! Scat! Off with you, ya stupid, mangy mutts!" the voice, male, shouted angrily.

To my surprise, a pack of black furred, blue pawed wolves dashed out, snarling and growling. They were followed by a tall, older looking teenager, about eighteen year old in grey T-shirt and black jeans waving one arm around, making whooping rebel yells that left a ringing sound in my ears.

And he did all this whilst brandishing a rather large spear in his left hand.

I must say he really got into the role. The wolf...things squared off with the guy, before they growled and stalked off. One of them holding a small box in its mouth.

The boy continued to shout at them though.

"Stupid fucking dog...things! I'll blow up the lot of you myself!" he shouted.

"Hey!" I shouted grabbing his attention as he was about to hurl a rock at the retreating wolves.

I walked up to him. "If you do that they'll come back."

The boy turned and grinned sheepishly, running a hand through his spiky mess of blood-red hair. "My bad, I just don't like them. They feel _wrong._"

The boy then proceeded to stretch and yawn lazily and moved some hair that was around his horn.

Yes, you heard me.

Horn. Two of them to be precise, one on either side of his temple, both black and cat ear-like in size and shape.

I had to blink twice to make sure.

His accent was also different. It was a British accent, that much was clear, but it wasn't like the ones I had heard before. It was more relaxed and less pronounced than the others, although the vowels were shorter and said with a slight harshness. Not vicious or aggressive just...harsher, if that makes sense.

"So...your name is?" I asked.

"Mmm? Oh sorry, where are my manners," he chuckled, flattening his hair, only for it to come shooting back up. "My name is Shadow, and you are?"

"Aqua," I replied.

Shadow's red eyes seemed to light up at this. "Nice to meet you Aqua," he smiled before cocking his head to the side. "I haven't seen you around before. From the looks of things you could use a drink?"

"Oh, yes please!" I nodded vigorously, following him into the town. The town seemed to be an odd mismatch of thin stoned houses and aerated wooden houses, all of which were mostly painted in bright, warm colours and the only paths were dusty. There were several electric poles scattered around the town. The most prominent feature was a clocktower surrounded by flowers and a small moat being filled by two waterfalls.

We stopped by a vending machine which Shadow putting some money in. I got myself a diet Coke and turned to him.

Or at least I _would_ have done...if he was still there.

(**End Welcome to Fyrestone**)

_Oh no!_

I looked around in panic. My initial thoughts were of me being lost in this middle-of-nowhere town. Not a good thought. Who knew what kinds of creeps lurked here.

"You idiot, Shadow!" a girl yelled from around the corner.

'_Stupid me for overreacting_' I thought irritably.

Poking my head round the corner of the building I saw...okay?...Shadow being beaten around the head by a girl in a hoodie and shorts. She was roughly a foot shorter than him, or there about. Behind her glasses were furious emerald green eyes.

"How _could_ you?!" she shrieked whacking him again. "You stupid Brit! How could you let those thrice...god...damned...Vehements run off with it!" the girl yelled in a faint New York accent. "YOU...STUPID...USELESS...THICKHEADED...TALL PERSON!"

"OW! Owowowow! OUCH! Kaye, look, I'm...OW! I'm sorry! I'll...OW! I'll make it up to you!" Shadow whimpered.

Watching them bicker was, I must admit...pretty funny.

"Asshole, it was for my fifteenth birthday!" the girl (Kaye) growled. She had gotten him in a headlock and was giving him a harsh nuggie that made him yelp.

"H-Hey! A-Aqua will help you get it back!" Shadow shouted.

Kaye looked up at me then let go of Shadow. Then she hauled off and punched the poor guy in the face. When his phone rang, though, she resisted the urge to punch him again. Shadow grimaced as he stifled the trickle of blood from the sucker punch she had given him. When he dug out his phone he frowned at the caller ID, then walked off to talk in private.

"You want me to get my _own_ birthday gift back?! Ugh! You...You...Cheapskate!"

"Midget!" he shouted back before turning a corner.

Kaye folded her arms and pouted. "Pisshead!"

"Whatever!" he called back.

"Um...hey," I said nervously. "Was that box those things ran off with yours?"

Kaye looked at me, a knowing look flashed in her eyes. "Yeah. So? You don't look like much."

Kaye shrugged, removing the shotgun from the holster on her back before walking off to the wastes. "Fine, whatever. Come on then, Aqua."

I watched her walk off and summoned _Master Keeper_ in a huff.

First impressions with Kaye? Not good. She didn't really respect anybody. Anyway, I met her at the gate of the town. She was staring out of it at a large cave on the hill opposite. I looked at her, a tad concerned.

"Worried?" I asked. "I'll go on my own if you want."

"What? N-No! I'm not worried!" she replied, flustered. "Let's just go to the Bone Pit and get that box back."

As soon as we stepped out a small pack of those wolves formed in darkness. And right in the middle of them was...

(**The Meta Theme- Red vs Blue OST**)

"Alice!" I shouted at my double angrily.

"Well, helloooo, Aquaaaaa," she smiled, bowing in a patronizing way. "Do you like my pets?" I opened my mouth to reply, but she cut me off. "Me too! Oh! Guess what?"

"What?" I asked, forcing calmness.

"Oh, c'mon it's not THAT bad! There's a big portal thing at the end of that cave. I wonder what's through it? Do you wonder? I wonder if there's a lot of people through it, then we can be _friends_," she grinned as she emphasized that word, her facing brimming with insanity. It was like the same shark-like grin I had seen on Xehanort's face. "Shall we see? Come on, Aquaaa, let's see!"

She held her hand out to me, giggling manically.

"No, thanks." I spat, knocking the hand away.

Alice's face twisted into a frown, her fist clenching. "Very well. I'll see for myself."

She turned and walked away, before looking at me over her shoulder. "Oh, I met someone who knows a way out, apparently. He says he can help you..." she grinned "...for a price. He was Spanish I believe."

I raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

"Um...Excuse me?" Kaye asked, annoyed. "What about the Vehements?"

She raised her shotgun at the wolves.

"Kill them if you want, doesn't both me," Alice grinned as she walked off again.

She clicked her fingers and disappeared.

The wolves pounced as commanded.

(**End The Meta**)

-*Br/By*-

_World's Watchtower, "game room"_

Shadow was pacing by the wide window of the game room. He was muttering bitterly about who'd been on the phone.

"You know, buddy" came an echoing voice. "Frowning so much isn't good for your face."

Shadow grumbled and looked behind him at the empty armchair opposite him.

"Hello...Herald," he said, rather unamused.

(**Nube Negra- Bleach OST**)

A sinister-looking, circular, purple Dimensional Gate appeared on the sofa. It quickly disappeared, leaving a tanned, somewhat handsome man with short, curly black hair, brown eyes and a wide, devilish grin. In his hand was a glass of _Vinho Verde_ wine.

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend?" he huffed in a Portuguese accent, before laughing.

"We're **not** friends," Shadow growled. "And...I'm pretty sure I hate your guts."

"Oh that's harsh, haven't you got lolis or something to obsess over?"

"At least I don't have a Terra Branford doll collection large enough to fill Big Ben!"

The two of them paused. Silence quickly washed over them as the two didn't want to break the tense staring contest.

In the end it was Herald who broke the ice. "Look. You and I both have a _lot_ of things to work out."

"_I'm_ not the one who threw a tree at our teacher...twice," Shadow deadpanned.

Herald made a face. "Oh for the love of-! I was drunk! Firewinde _knows_ not to be blunt when I'm drunk! _Anyway._ The point I'm trying to make is this: I ran into that Nightmare. "

Shadow, who had gone back to staring at the greeny-blue ocean in the distance, turned slightly. "Wait...What do you mean _that _Nightmare. Aqua's 'Voice'? That one?"

Herald snorted to himself and nodded. "God she was annoying. She didn't shut up, I tell you! Geez..." He stopped. "She's got a pretty dark imagination too."

'_Shit_' Shadow thought to himself. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her I could give her some, ah..." Herald made a vague gesture with one hand "..._friends_ if she brought Aqua to the Dam in your little playground. Get it?" He grinned innocently.

Shadow frowned at him, to which Herald grinned more.

"And I'm supposed to believe that bloody awful-looking smirk on your face?" Shadow deadpanned. On the inside he was seething. '_He actually found a way in, clever bastard. And _not _having Herald in there would tick that Nightmare off _more_! Damn it!_'

Herald watched Shadow falter himself as the other 'Watchman' tried to think a way out of it.

Of course, Shadow also knew that he should have put a leash on Alice as well if he didn't want Herald messing with the test. He never could resist showing Shadow up.

That said Alice is a loose cannon with allegiances that suited herself and nobody else. And Herald would have found a way to meet her somehow.

Herald took a sip of his wine, waving innocently as Shadow finally looked at him. "Ah, _ola, meu amigo!_ I'm right here!"

"Fine," Shadow sighed. "You can join in."

"Oh, you're actually offering?" Herald said in a slightly condescending tone. "Well then, I accept."

Shadow growled in reply and stormed out, slamming the door hard behind him.

But Herald watched in mild amusement, swirling the wine his glass.

"Alright then, Aqua," he chuckled as he let the liquid settle before drinking some. "Let's see if you're worthy of Master Firewinde's attention after all." A dangerous grin spread across his face.

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah...that bit between Herald and Shadow took longer than expected. I literally wrote it as they said it. Don't judge me.


	3. Dem Bones

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T KINGDOM HEARTS!**

* * *

_The Town, Outskirts_

The wolves, or Prowlers as Kaye so graciously pointed out, came crashing down with their claws bared. I swiftly set about casting a flurry of fireballs at them, which brought the first lot crashing down.

"Eh, that was a lucky shot," Kaye shrugged as she literally blasted the heads off the Prowlers with her shotgun.

I frowned at her but quickly noticed a larger Prowler charging at her unnoticed. Quickly setting the nearby Prowlers alight I jumped and brought the teeth of my Keyblade down between the eyes of the beast.

"Holy fudgemuffins!" Kaye cried as I pushed her out of the way.

I continued to attack the larger Prowler, pushing it back as Kaye fired on the smaller creatures. The large one, which I assumed to be the leader, reared its head up and belched up a large spiked ice ball.

"Dodge!" Kaye bellowed diving to the left.

I copied and dived to the opposite side, firing a fireball into the mouth of the beast. It howled in fury as it seemed to burn from the inside out. As I watched it I felt a strange stinging in my heart, although I quickly ignored it and took out the remaining Prowlers.

When they were all gone I turned to Kaye. "What's in that box?"

"A relic," she said simply. "Shadow said he'd get me one."

I watched her pull the ironsight of her gun back and put in some new shells before closing it again.

"He told you what he got you?"

"Not what kind, though he would if he got the chance, he sucks at secret keeping."

She began walking to the cave with her shotgun resting on her shoulder, thinking about what was so important about the relic she mentioned...

"You coming or what?" she called, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah!" I shouted back, running to join her.

-*Br/By*-

_Bone Pit_

The cave was the Bone Pit Kaye had mentioned earlier. True to its name it was filled with animal carcasses of varying shapes, sizes and stench. It made the outback seem like a herbal garden.

Kaye laughed as I gagged at the foul, decaying flesh when we entered.

"What's the matter? Never been in a cave full of rotting animals before?" she asked.

I couldn't tell if she was genuine or just teasing. I coughed a little. "Not this full of rotting animals."

Kaye chuckled a little. I frowned at her. "Let's just get this relic found."

Kaye grunted cutely in agreement. Together we set off further down the bit. I lit a fireball in the palm of my free hand.

As we went further down the bones and the stench became less prominent. It also became slightly more claustrophobic too, with shadows dancing around on the walls and ceiling as the flame crackled pleasantly.

"So, what are those Vehements?" I asked, trying to stir up a conversation.

"We don't know," Kaye replied with a shrug. "All we know is they started appearing about a week ago and multiplied by infected animals with a weird black ooze. The animals that touch the ooze become infected and turn into Vehements themselves."

I looked down. I hadn't heard of a monster that can do that, even in ancient times. We turned a corner out onto a rocky bridge over a large chasm. If there wasn't only one path I would have asked Kaye how she knew where to go.

"What about that town, what's it called?" I asked, voice echoing in the gloom.

"Radiant Garden, why?"

I stopped in my tracks. How? That...can't be Radiant Garden! It's dry and...and dusty.

"Yeah it wasn't always like that," Kaye continued, as if reading my thoughts. "It was pretty beautiful around two hundred years ago. Apparently all the water round here dried up then." She shrugged a little. "Meh, it's home."

"Right," was all I could say.

I followed after her as we turned into a pre-lit tunnel. How was it already lit? There was a generator in the corner powering a string of mining lamps on the walls. Further in we heard shouting and growling.

"Prowlers!" Kaye hissed, readying her shotgun. "Let's go!"

I nodded and we both dashed into a large cavern to see an adolescent boy holding a katana surrounded by several dead Prowlers. What surprised me was there were no scratches on the boy.

"Antex?" Kaye asked.

The boy turned at the mention of his name. He eyed me lazily.

As he turned fully I could see he had light brown skin and golden cat-like eyes. He had an average build and shoulder length maroonish hair with black streaks with a few spikes at the top.

"Hello Kaye," he said finally, dusting off his slate grey jacket. "Who's this?"

"This is Aqua," she replied, looking at a large mass of skeletons behind him. ""And _that's_ my present!"

Antex turned as she ran past him. "Shadow got you finding your own presents again?"

Kaye ignored him and plucked the small box from the ribcage, causing a few bones to slip and rattle against each other.

"Is she always this...rude?" I asked the boy.

"Only because she doesn't know you well," Antex replied, sheathing his katana. "She's also...full on."

"What the hell?!" she roared at the now open box. "He...damn you Shadow!"

The raging was broken by a cute, manic giggle from a ledge behind us. I snapped my head round and glared.

"This what you looking for?" a shadow cloaked Alice asked holding a shimmering silver rock, golden eyes glinting in the dark.

"Yeah, give it back!" Kaye growled.

"Ummm...no," she said sweetly, throwing and catching the stone lazily.

"Heh, too afraid to come out of the dark?" I laughed.

"Awww, what's that matter, Aquaa? Afraid of what's lurking in the dark?" she retorted, winking at me before jumping down into the light. "Now then, I need to get this to that guy in the Woods."

"Woods?" I asked.

"Yeah...through that portal, keep up, geez, you're so stupid Aquaaa, no wonder you went MAD!"

I growled and rushed her with _Master Keeper_. But she swiftly blocked with a monochrome copy of..._my Keyblade!_ I twisted around and tried to strike her again, but she blocked me again.

"Surprised?" Alice asked in a deadly serious tone.

"It's just an imitation!" I growled back.

Alice laughed madly, before silencing incredibly quick. "Cute." She jumped back quickly. "Would you like to meet my pet?"

"Pet?" Kaye asked curiously.

"Yeah, he can fetch and roll over, wanna meet him? Good!"

(**Vs Titan and Big Mother- Sonic Unleashed OST**)

She giggled and fired a load of black ooze onto the pile of bones. The ooze bubbled into the pile and reared up slowly, connecting the bones together and forming a large skeletal giganotosaurus-like creature.

"Mother of..." Antex whispered, drawing his katana.

"Enrique! It's so good to see you!" Alice giggled, hugging the leg of the beast. "Shoo fluffy! Would you like to play with your chew toys?"

The dinosaur, uh... 'Enrique' looked at us and roared menacingly.

"Playing nice then," Alice laughed, disappearing and casting a barrier on the exit.

**Enrique**

**Fear the fluffiness**

Enrique roared threateningly, bowing its head down and charging, ooze throwing up everywhere. The three of us scattered around the cavern, taking care not step in the ooze. I cast a Watera spell at the dinosaur as it thundered past, but the spell did nothing to the beast, only angering it.

The Vehement turned, extending its neck with what appeared to be an ooze covered spinal cord, and began snapping wildly at me. I fought it off as Kaye fired a few shells at its head, causing it roar angrily.

Enrique turned its attention to the girl.

"Well...shit," Kaye deadpanned and turning to run.

Enrique charged after her, slamming the cavern walls with its tail. I followed after it, dodging the rocks that feel whilst trying to grab its attention, firing Firaga spells at it as best I could, but it didn't help any. Kaye was running around like headless chicken, repeatedly saying the word 'fuck' as the Vehement kept following after her.

"_Antex!_" she screamed.

Out of nowhere Antex jumped down from above, stabbing Enrique's head with his katana.

"Sorry, did that hurt?/That 'sorry' was sarcasm/I am not sorry," he said seriously, pulling the sword out of its skull.

Kaye ran beside me, panting.

"Um...Kaye?" I asked her.

"Mmm?"

"Did...did he just speak in haiku?"

Kaye looked at Antex as Enrique growled and shook its head around wildly, forcing Antex to jump off.

"He does that when he's having fun," she replied simply.

Antex somersaulted to us as Enrique roared again. Out of his mouth came a powerful Thunder attack, which rushed towards us.

"_Reflect!_" I chanted, casting a large Reflega.

The laser careened back at Enrique causing its skull to shatter a little, revealing an oozy mess underneath.

"Gross..." I muttered, before getting an idea.

Quickly, I ran towards it, casting multiple Thundagas on its leg joints. One of its legs broken down, forcing it to collapse, roaring angrily. Kaye took a chance and fired into its open mouth while I continued hitting it with electricity.

"Antex!" I shouted. "Know any electric attacks?"

"Just one," he replied, leaping up and charging his sword with electricity. "_Bore!_"

As he came down, the sword pierced the back of Enrique's head, sending cracks down its spine until the Vehement feel apart. As it did the ooze holding it together spread out and hardened before fading into darkness.

(**End Vs Titan and Big Mother**)

"Oh, what? Yeah, what, bitch?/ Yeah, I just slapped you and stuff/What are you gonna do?" Antex taunted.

I laughed a little, until I heard Alice.

"Enrique! ¿Por qué?" she cried as she sat on a large boulder.

I glared at her, watching her sob in an over dramatic way.

"Hey!" was all I could angrily muster.

"Hiiiii!" Alice grinned, holding up the relic. "_Skin of the Ancients _I believe this is called. Personally not my type. I'm after the _Heart of the Ancients_. Buuuut I still need to hand this in, sooooo ta-ra!"

Alice turned around and walked down another passage. I followed her, only to watch her disappearing into the portal she mentions earlier.

"Damn it," I sighed.

"We need to find her!" Kaye shouted. "Or at least find the other three Ancients relics!"

I turned to face her. "How come?"

"There are four Ancient relics," she replied. "Blood, Bone, Heart and Skin. Each one has different powers. _Skin of the Ancients _for example gives the user massive endurance. All of them together can make you a powerful warrior."

"Right...what about the other three?"

Kaye shrugged. "I...I haven't read much on the others."

I rolled my eyes, thinking it over.

Alice...from the looks of things she can create Vehements. Add those relics to her then...she could become a big problem.

"That's that then." I said, getting curious looks from Antex and Kaye. "We find the other relics before Alice does. Then we defeat her and hide the stones where no one will find them."

"Woo! Treasure hunt!" Antex shouted joyously.

I stared at him, confused.

"He's bipolar," Kaye whispered in my ear.

"Ohhh."

I chuckled a little and turned off to the portal. Together we stepped through.

-Br/By*-

_Immortal Woods_

Alice walked down some suburban houses. More specifically on the balconies of the houses, jumping from each one. In the distance was the dam she was supposed to get to. She stopped on a balcony to admire the large forest in front of the massive concrete cliff.

It was however cut short quite quickly.

"I say, Pippin, what's that over there?" an incredibly posh male British voice asked.

"Over where, Geoffrey?" replied an equally posh male British voice.

"Over there on the veranda."

The second voice gasped. "Why, I do believe it's a Vehement!"

"Didn't we speak of killing them on sight earlier?"

"Why, I do believe we did!"

The two men proceeded to ramble quickly in agreement. Alice watched them, unsure of what to think.

'_Pippin and Geoffrey...where have I heard those names..._'

Her eyes widened. "Oh shit!"

* * *

**A/N: **Apologies for the lateness, college started and things were like 'RAWR! MORE IMPORTANT THAN FANFICTION WORK!'

That said, I will attempt to stick to a weekly/bi-weekly update schedule. One more thing, if you think that I am high when I write this, then you're wrong.

This is what my mind is like on a regular basis.


	4. A Chance Encounter

**DISCLAIMER: Shadowclaw welcomes you to chapter 4. I don't Aqua or Keyblades or Zack or Terra Branford. Now go punch some bad guys in the d*ck!**

* * *

_**Alice**_

_Immortal Woods_

I watched Geoffrey and Pippin agree and complement each other graciously. Why did they have to be like this? Why, dammit!

Ugh...never mind. I went up to them, trying to look innocent, yet un-creepy.

Tough, I know.

"Hello, I take it you're the two I'm supposed to meet?" I asked as unaggressive as possible.

Geoffrey, the shorter, slightly fatter of the two looked at me.

"My God, Pippin! It's capable of speech!" he exclaimed.

"By jove! So it is!" Pippin, the tall one with the spiked fringe exclaimed also.

I frowned and summoned my Master Keeper and pointed it at them. "So, I'm stupid am I?"

Geoffrey tutted. "See what you've you done, Pippin? You've angered the Vehement!"

"I take offense to that comment!" Pippin exclaimed.

"I take offense to you taking offense to that comment!"

"That's it Geoffrey, I challenge you to fisticuffs!"

"I accept this challenge!"

And then they started...slapping each other. Like little girls. I just...stared. Well wouldn't you? I edged my way around the bickering 'men', I use that term lightly, and looked around the room.

It seemed ordinary, save for a fancy computer which displayed pictures of the dam all over, entrances, maps, all sorts.

Thankfully Geoffrey and Pippin were still arguing, so I allowed myself to look at the documents. I flipped my way through the various pages, nothing interesting catching my eye. The information on the relics was stuff I already knew.

I pulled up a page which contained a picture of a large Tower. Something about the tower caught my eye and took my breath away slightly, even though it was still a picture. It looked so peaceful...so...

"What are you doing?" came a pure, female voice from behind me.

I scoffed and ignored her, listening to Geoffrey and Pippin pinch each other's noses.

"What are you doing?" the voice asked again.

I turned slightly and found myself looking (read scowling) at a short young woman. The first thing that struck me about her was her frail looking body and pale skin, almost made paler by her blonde hair. Her clothes were elaborate, yet simple; a red leotard with matching long gloves and pinkish floral tights.

"Nothing that you need to concern yourself with," I said simply, turning back to pull up another page.

Or at least I would have if the girl hadn't pulled the plug on it. I glared at her.

"Buzzkill."

The woman ignored me and walked up to Geoffrey and Pippin.

"N-no, I will smite you!"

"Have at thee!"

The woman hadn't got within a foot of them before they stopped abruptly, shivering noticeably and looking at the her fearfully.

"I am so sorry, Miss Terra!" Geoffrey cried as both of them bowed in the floor in a comical fashion.

"The Vehement is to blame!" Pippin also cried.

"Thanks," I spat at him.

The woman, Terra, spoke calmly. "That Vehement is on our side, Pippin."

I had to admit, I admired her calmness, although...the pressure she was exerting was another thing all together.

"Good Lord, Pippin, you angered our own teammate!" Geoffrey shouted at him.

"Please, the both of you shut up! You're so annoying!" I shouted angrily.

That shut them up. I sighed and moved my fringe out of my vision before walking up to them.

"I'm guessing you're looking for this?" I asked holding out the _Skin of the Ancients_.

Terra nodded. "Thank you, Alice. At least _someone_ is more competent than others."

She looked at the two men as she said that. "I trust you'll be helping us find the other three?"

I nodded quickly. "I get friends out of it don't I?"

Terra stared at me, then nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Woooo!" I shouted, before my nostrils flared. "Aqua's here...Hmmm..."

Terra, Geoffrey and Pippin looked at me curiously.

"I think I have a way to make it easier for us to find them," I said, grinning devilishly.

-*Br/By*-

_**Aqua**_

_Highlands_

We stepped out of the portal and found ourselves on a grassy hillside that was periodically scattered with grey rocks and boulders. At the foot of the hill was large wood, and a large dam behind us.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"The Highlands," Antex replied. "Beautiful isn't it? There's a small town beyond those woods."

I nodded. "Then that's where we start."

We setting of running down the hill. From out of nowhere, Shadow started running next to me.

"Heyoo," he grinned.

"Shadow? How'd you get here!?" I asked.

"I like hanging out here," he said still running. "But never mind that, do I have something to show you. Come on!"

He took off at a cheetah's pace. I looked at Kaye and Antex, who both shrugged and followed after him.

-*Br/By*-

_Immortal Woods_

Shadow's ninja like reflexes and habit of jumping from trees made him difficult to follow. Kaye said he was a fan of ninja manga and wanted to figure out how to jump between tree to tree, hence the ninja movements.

It wasn't long until we were led to a clearing with a burnt out camp fire in the middle with a log positioned a bit away from it.

"Hey, I brought her!" Shadow shouted.

A voice chuckled from a nearby tree branch and a tall man jumped out of it, doing a few squats when he landed.

"I-it can't be..." I whispered, as the man stood up straight. His eyes were still the brilliant sky blue I remember. "Zack?"

"Hey, Aqua," he grinned. "Long time no see."

* * *

**A/N: **Uugh, I hate it when college takes up your free time -.- Sigh...

And now to brighten the mood, watch a video of a cat meowing underwater on Youtube.


	5. The Search Begins

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

* * *

**ARC: **_**Blood of the Ancients**_

_World's Watchtower, Firewinde's Office_

Firewinde rubbed his temples and sighed tiredly. Clearly having thirty-three cups of coffee a day wasn't helping him. The World Master had been working none stop to try and find out just how dangerous Alice and the Vehements were.

Vehements...A race unlike any other. Born from the darkness of the mind, not the heart, giving them the ability to influence another living creature via symbiosis.

"And with Alice working with Herald..." Firewinde sighed again, closing his eyes. "With Herald's ability who knows what would..." His eyes flew open, a look of worry obvious on his face. "A creature born from darkness of the mind...might also be..."

Firewinde shot up and powered out of his office, grabbing his coat on the way, and set off at a quick run.

-*Br/By*-

_**Aqua**_

_Immortal Woods_

"...And then I held out against Shinra's army until I collapsed. I saw my mentor then woke up here," Zack finished.

"Wow..." was all I could say. "Just...wow."

"Yup, no idea how I got here either," he said with a frown.

I looked at him sadly. Although he put on a brave face I could tell all that **[1] **affected him greatly.

"What about that sword?" I asked, pointing at the big slab of gleaming metal that was perched upright in the dirt.

"Oh that? That's the _Buster Sword_, it belonged to Angeal. When I...when he died he gave it to me so I could use it to protect my loved ones." He turned to me and winked. "Now I can use it to protect you too, haha."

I blushed brightly, stammering a little at what to say.

He laughed.

"Hey lovebirds," Shadow chuckled walking up to us. "Watcha doin'?"

"Oh w-we're not together," I said hurriedly.

"Awww, poop," he pouted. "There goes my bet with Kaye."

"Sha_DOOOOOOOOOOOW!_"

Shadow turned round. "Speak of the devil."

What we saw was a large, orange serpentine creature with several tentacles chasing after Kaye and Antex, with Kaye firing blindly at the creature.

"I," **BANG "**Hate,"** BANG **"Whippers!" she shouted.

"Hey, over here!" Antex shouted, throwing a large rock at the Whipper with telekinesis (Yeah, I don't even...).

The Whipper turned its attention to him and threw several spiked barbs at him from its tentacles. However, Antex disappeared quickly, confusing the monster. Before Shadow, Zack and I could do anything, a tall grey werewolf like creature with a huge crimson and black main pounced from behind us, slashing at him with crimson -covered claws before unleashing a violent stream of fire from his mouth, burning it where it stood.

The werewolf landed, transforming back to a (clothed) Antex. "Assassinated/What a satisfying word/With five syllables."

"Well that was...different," Zack said, as dumbfounded as I was.

"Eh, you get used to it," Shadow shrugged. "On another note, there seems to be an audio recorder in this burnt corpse. Chuck us it, Kaye."

"Do it yourself!" she retorted.

Shadow rolled his eyes and picked an old Walkman style recorder from the creatures gut, flapping it around to try and get some of the blood off. Then he set it on the ground and pressed play.

"Ah, just a wonderful day walking through the Woods," a cheery male voice came through the crackling. "Talking in to my audio recorder, hoping Whippers don't appear, killing me and taking the Ancients relic I'm carrying with me back to their nest out in The Dust." Then came with roaring. "OH GOD! Oh, my god, this is exactly what I wanted NOT to happen!"

The recording ended abruptly after that.

"Depressing," Antex said.

"Noted," I replied, turning to Shadow. "Where's The Dust?"

"What? Not even bothered about the dead guy?" he asked.

I shrugged in return. "There's nothing we can do for him."

"Huh," Shadow said indifferently. "The Dust is beyond the town at the other end of these woods," He gesturing to deeper in to the woods. "There's a road called the Ridgeway that'll take us The Dust. I can drive, so I'll take us."

"So we're going on an adventure, right?" Zack asked, picking up his longsword.

Shadow nodded, following Kaye and Antex off into the forest. "Treasure hunt, Zacky-boy, hope you aren't rusty."

I turned to him and smiled. "Looks like that date will have to stay delayed."

Zack shook his head and laughed. "I'll hold you to it." Then ran off like a kid at Santa's Grotto with me following.

-*Br/By*-

Alice appeared in the room to find Terra, Geoffrey and Pippin around the computer. She frowned.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked.

Terra turned slightly. "Our boss, why?"

"No reason." Alice stood idly by the window.

"Alice?" came a voice from the computer. Alice took little notice. The voice sighed. "Alice, would you kindly come over here."

Alice rolled her eyes and walked to the computer. On the screen was a tanned, handsome looking man. He grinned and waved.

"Olá Alice, como voce tem estado?" the man asked.

Alice raised an eyebrow at the phrase. "I don't speak Spanish, Herald."

"Hey! I'm not Spanish, I'm Portuguese, _big _difference," Herald laughed.

"Not that I see," said Alice, shaking her head.

Herald's laughed died down as he pulled out a packet of potato chips and ate them. "These chips are awesome, anyway." Swallow. "My lovely Terra tells me you can track Aqua by scent, right?"

Alice nodded.

"Good...good," Herald chuckled. "Do they know where the others are?"

Alice blew her fringe out of her eyes in response.

"Alright..." Herald sighed, frowning a little. "I guess I'll leave it to you then. Terra, my sweet?"

"Yes, Herald?"

"Be careful, ok?"

"I will, don't worry," Terra giggled.

Alice rolled her eyes. "And I'll get friends, right?"

Herald nodded. "Good luck to you, or as we say; _boa sorte!_"

"What about us, Sir?" Geoffrey asked pompously.

Herald looked at them. "Try not to screw it up so badly."

The call ended.

"Yes, Sir!"

"You are aware that he just insulted you, didn't you, Geoffrey?" Pippin sighed.

"How dare you even insinuate that!"

On the other hand, Terra sat down next to Alice. Alice looked at her then shuffled away from her. She began to shuffle back and forth before finally settling on a spot near the lamp.

"That's better," Alice said happily.

"Where is the next one?" Terra asked, smiling.

"Some place called The Dust."

"Alright then," she said standing up. "Geoffrey, Pippin, let's go."

-*Br/By*-

_**Aqua**_

_The Dust, The Plain_

The Dust was a vast rocky desert, although it wasn't troubled by baking heat. In fact the breeze made it rather cold. The rocky terrain didn't help the ride though as it threw Shadow's jeep around like crazy.

"This is the story/ All about how my life got/Flipped, turned upside down," Antex said as we clunked over an out-jutting rock.

"Could you make this a bit, I don't know, _less bumpy?!_" Kaye yelled in Shadow's ear, this being the fifth variation of that line as well as the least...crude.

"Not long now, Squidge!" Shadow laughed in reply, though agitated.

We pulled up outside an old rust-covered locomotive that had a working generator attached to the cabin. Around it were several off road vehicles, and a few petrol pumps. Shadow got out of the car.

"Where are you going?" Kaye pouted.

"Where do you think?!" Shadow replied as he made his way to the pumps.

Kaye rolled her eyes, folded her arms and pouted. Zack chuckled before stopping abruptly and drawing his sword. "Someone's here."

Quickly he opened the jeep door and jumped out, entering a battle stance. I quickly followed. No sooner had my foot touched the sandy ground I felt a rush of cold wind, sending goose bumps up my bear arms.

"Zack, did you feel that?" I asked walking up to him. He didn't answer.

When I looked at him I found his entire body frozen. I checked Shadow, who was frozen mid step. Kaye and Antex were frozen too.

Suddenly I heard a wooshing sound from behind. Instinctively summoning _Master Keeper_, I turned, finding a tall tanned man standing a few feet away from me.

"Olá," the man said. "You're Aqua, correct?"

* * *

**A/N: **Boss fight next chapter, booya!

**[1]- '**All that is' effectively the 'Shadowsverse' version of _Crisis Core_, which you can find on my profile now that the chapter is up.

Also, apologies if the pacing is slow, it'll pick up and be a lot smoother during the following chapters, I promise.

Review, please?


	6. A Brief Skirmish

**DISCLAIMER:** **Kingdom Hearts and all music are property of their rightful owners. I only own the OCs and plot.**

* * *

**ARC: Blood of the Ancients**

_The Dust, Outskirt Stand_

I tilted my head slightly, wondering who this man was.

"Why do you ask?" I inquired.

The man smiled. It was slightly unnerving. Only slightly. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Who are you?" I asked.

The man chuckled, as he paced around the wasteland. "How rude of me, I'm Herald, an acquaintance of Shadow's."

I furrowed my brow. He picked up on my thoughts as he seemed to smile again. "You're thinking if that were true, why would I freeze everything?"

I changed my stance a little, not breaking my stare.

"I wish to test you, Aqua," Herald said simply. "No interruptions, just... a test. A friendly spar."

"I'm not getting out of this am I?"

(**First Battle- Pokemon Colosseum OST**)

"Nope."

"Fine!" I shouted dashing forward.

Herald summoned a small golden sword and chuckled. "_Vamos!_"

**Herald**

**(I'm Helping!)**

I lunged forward with an ice covered Keyblade, but Herald swiftly dodged it. I anticipated it though and launched a Thundaga at him. He growled and swiftly twirled with his blade outstretched, the speed catching me off guard.

I stumbled as the sword sliced me just below my neck. Shrugging it off, I cartwheeled around him, firing small fireballs at him. Herald stood there and took them before jumping up to avoid my Thunder Surge attack.

"Heh, you've got a decent set of magic skills on you," he smiled as he landed gently.

"Er...thanks," I said running at him and unleashing a combo on him.

He moved back a bit, letting me hit him from time to time, his eyes darting about, following _Master Keeper's _movements. Has I slammed my Keyblade down, he blocked.

"Shame you're too open on your physical attacks!" he chuckled, kicking my feet out from under me before attempting to slash me.

I rolled away quickly, only for him to kick sand in my eyes.

I got him, trying to quickly rub out the sharp grains of rock as the stung my eyes like needles. I heard Herald chuckle and felt a cold wave rush down me.

"Damnit," I muttered. "_Blackout!_"

I heard Herald grunt and fumble about. I quickly summoned a water bubble and splashed it over myself, washing the sand away. I smiled and charged him with Thunder Surge and sent Herald crashing into the side of the rusted train.

"Uuugh, that was a cheap shot," he groaned as he climbed out of the large dent he'd left.

He glared and teleported to me, hitting me with a fast flurry of jabs and thrusts with his sword. I yelped in pain as they dug into my arm. Herald smiled at that.

"What happened to 'a friendly spar'?" I growled, striking him in the side with _Master Keeper's _teeth.

"If you never fight like you're in a real battle, then you always lose," Herald said sternly as he fired an orb of golden energy at me.

I dodged to the left. "Ok then. Take this! _Burn!_"

A whirlwind of fire cloaked me as I charged into Herald and ploughed into a nearby rock formation, cracking and smashing it as we went. On the other, Herald dug his heels in the dirt slowing me considerably.

What surprised me most was that he was able to through me off. I stood up as fire still cloaked me and watched him punch the air. No sooner had he stopped a rippling shockwave came crashing into me, kicking up dust and knocking me off my feet.

I landed on my fighting arm badly. I swear I heard a crack. Slowly I got up and sent and Ice Barrage at him, freezing his legs in place. He looked at me as I ran to him again.

"I give up! Would you kindly stop!" he shouted.

I slowed to a stop almost immediately, melting the ice for him and freeing him.

"Thank you," he said before walking off. "Good spar by the way."

I stared at him, confused. "So that's it?"

"Yup," he nodded opening another of those portals. "Don't worry though." He turned and smiled. "We'll meet again, I'm sure. Oh and, er, tell Shadow I said hello."

With that he disappeared and the wind started blowing again.

Then pain came surging up my arm. I dropped my Keyblade and held it, fighting the urge to yell in pain.

"Aqua!" I heard Zack shout as he ran up to me. "What happened?"

-*Br/By*-

As Zack tended to Aqua, Shadow sniffed the air.

"Damnit," he growled.

A Dimensional Gate opened silently behind him. Sensing it he turned around as Firewinde stepped out, his coat whipping around in the wind.

"Shadow?" he asked, his voice still as stern as ever.

"Don't worry, I know he was here, I won't let him fu...screw this up," Shadow replied, frustration in his voice.

"You just focus on Aqua and Alice, that was the job I gave you, was it not?"

"But-!" Shadow protested.

"Shadow." Firewinde said as he flared his aura, quietening him immediately. "I will look around and see what his planning. However, if he is around, please keep Aqua safe. Alice too."

"Alice?" Shadow inquired but Firewinde said no more.

"You keep to your duties. Leave Herald to me."

With that he left through the Gate he came in.

"Psst! Shadow!" Kaye whispered from the jeep.

He turned slightly. "Yeah?"

"Something wrong?" she asked with a hint of worry.

"You seem...worried," Antex stated.

Shadow sighed. "You two, listen carefully..."

-*Br/By*-

_**Aqua**_

We all got into the car and drove off after Shadow refilled the tank. The Dust got dustier as we went further in. As we drove across the hilly and sandy terrain, huge thick spears off rock began to pierce the ground.

"Oh boy..." Zack breathed as we drove up to a large rocky crag . On the opposite end was a tall rocky plateau a rope bridge between them. On the outside pathways were several heaps of junk. On our end was a small house. "That's the Whippers' nest?"

"Yes, Whipper Peak," Antex replied. "They're also kleptos."

"I guessed," Zack replied. "Welp, best get to it then."

He hopped out of the car and walked towards the bridge with us in tow.

"Oh no, no, no!" shouted a guy as he ran out of the small scrap iron house. "You can't go there, it's not safe!"

"Those Whippers have something of mine," Kaye explained.

"You can't go though, Pyros is too...Actually I have a way to sort this is out for both of us."

Zack thought about it.

"Go on"

* * *

**A/N: **Yaaay chapter :D

Boo! College work!

Booo-er! Using Mum's computer cos my laptop's trollied! -.- See my profile for details!


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